The mother of 6, Joyce, who is benefitting from the chicken project in Malawi.

The champion of this transformation testimony spearheaded by economic empowerment is Joyce, 41, a mother of 6 children and the Secretary of one of the women credit groups of a total of 36 women under the “Women Empowerment through Small Livestock Project” implemented by Evangelical Lutheran Development Service (ELDS) in Mtoso outside Lilongwe. The project is funded by Dan Church Aid Malawi and also known as the “chicken project”.

Saving and investingThe women credit group in Mtoso will soon receive their final consignment of chickens, however Joyce is confident that the women are able to sustain the increased income attained through this project: “we have learned to manage the chickens properly, to work in a team, and also acquired vital business management skills which have helped us improve our livelihoods and increased our incomes which are very positive for the well-being of our families”. Joyce continues by stating that one of their future business ideas which they have developed together in the group is to save up money for a maize mill and to purchase a minibus which can assist them in transporting their goods to the marked and take the sick ones to the nearest hospital. Joyce wishes that many more Malawian women across the country will get the opportunity to benefit from similar projects as the “Women Empowerment through Small Livestock”.

Economic empowerment changes gender roles

The champion in the group (Joyce) further points to the positive development in gender roles “my husband is recognizing my success with the chicken project and the maize business and he supports me at the marked. With my increased income I have gained a more significant power at the household level” Joyce is adding. As cultural perceptions of women contribute greatly to their vulnerability and inferiority in Malawi, Joyce’s positive transformation proves that economic empowerment of women can be a driver for change in that respect. Malawi needs more women like Joyce and more Malawian women therefore need to be given equal economic opportunities as the return on such “investment” simply is paramount for sustainable development.

Conference on economic empowerment of womenUnderstanding the plight of Malawian women as well as appreciating their potential, Dan Church Aid hosted a land mark conference on “Economic Empowerment of Women â€" Call to Action towards Gender Equality” on 12 May 2009 in Lilongwe as one of its commitments as a MDG 3 Torchbearer to “do something extra” towards gender equality and women empowerment under the National MDG 3 Call to Action Campaign. The conference was attended by a multi-sector audience of 140 stakeholders composed by experts and practitioners within Government, the non-governmental organizations, the financial institutions, faith-based organizations, academia and the donor community. Read about the conference

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The Lilongwe declaration 200.55 kB

Dan Church Aid Malawi can now with great pride submit The Lilongwe Declaration May 2009 on Economic Empowerment of Women to the Government of Malawi for their endorsement. The “Lilongwe Declaration May 2009” on economic empowerment of women is a product of the outcomes from the discussions in the three interactive workshops (workshop 1 - expansion of microfinance services for women, workshop 2 - women’s voice, inclusion, participation in the economic sphere, and workshop 3 - the legal environment and policies related to women’s economic opportunities) and recommendations from the panel discussion focusing on needed interventions and concrete and practical solutions on the way forward towards economic empowerment of women in Malawi.

The aim of the declaration

The women credit groups of a total of 36 women under the “Women Empowerment through Small Livestock Project” implemented by Evangelical Lutheran Development Service (ELDS).

The crystal clear aim for The Lilongwe Declaration May 2009, with its innovative and concrete pledges and recommendations, is to spearhead and facilitate opportunities for appropriate and sustainable economic empowerment of women such as the case of Joyce and her fellow women in the credit group. The world is facing a pressing financial crisis, an energy crisis, a climate change crisis and a continuous global poverty crisis and Malawi needs to respond wisely to the footsteps this turmoil of challenges are planting in the Malawian soil. 52% of the population are women, women undertake 70% of agriculture work whereas they only enjoy 20% of the earnings from agriculture, most women are further employed in the informal sector and 55% of the Malawian population are excluded from financial services â€" in this context only 17% of Malawian women are formally banked. It is evident that the wheels of Malawi’s economy needs women as drivers equally as it needs men if the country is to experience the significant growth rate as in previous years under the global pressures from the four above presented crisis. The Lilongwe Declaration May 2009 on Economic Empowerment of Women therefore has the potential to spearhead targeted and necessary interventions and solutions for more women as Joyce to thrive economically â€" at the household level, in the community and at society at large.